US officials poured cold water on the idea that Russia was pulling back from confrontation with Ukraine on Tuesday, pointing to the continued presence of troops in Crimea and accusing it of being misleading about its intentions.

During a trip to Kiev, US secretary of state John Kerry claimed Moscow was “working hard to create a pretext for Russia to invade further,” and “hiding its hand behind falsehoods, intimidation and provocations.”

Kerry also scoffed at reports of a news conference held by Vladimir Putin in which he appeared to deny a Russian military presence in Crimea. “Did he really deny that there were troops in Crimea?” Kerry asked reporters incredulously.

Putin’s more conciliatory remarks earlier on Tuesday have put the US in a tricky situation as it tries to rally international support for sanctions against Russia, but President Barack Obama later insisted the reality on the ground in Crimea was still of deep concern.

“The fact that we are still seeing soldiers out of their barracks in Crimea is an indication that what’s happening there is not based on actual concern for Russian nationals or Russian speakers inside the Ukraine but is based on Russia seeking through force to exert influence on a neighbouring country,” he said following a speech on the US budget in Maryland.

“There have been some reports that Putin is pausing for a moment,and reflecting on what’s happened,” the president added.

“I think we have all seen from the perspective of the EU, US and allies around the world, there is a strong belief that Russia’s action is violating international law. Putin seems to have a different set of lawyers, making a different set of interpretations, but I don’t think that is fooling anyone.”

Financial markets, however, appeared reassured by Putin’s earlier press conference in Moscow, during which he insisted Russia “would not go to war with the Ukrainian people” and ordered the return to bases of troops participating in exercises near the border.

“Why would we use the armed forces?” the Russian president said. “This is of course the last resort, simply the last resort.”

He described the Russian-speaking soldiers occupying key Crimean military sites as “local self-defence forces”, rather than Russian troops.

But US leaders made clear they saw the crisis as far from over, and were sceptical of Putin’s claims.

Kerry said Russia must “return forces [in Crimea] to barracks and engage in legitimate policy of de-escalation” if it does not want to see the US and its partners take further steps against Russia, but left open the door for Moscow to backtrack.

“I come here today at the instruction of President Obama to make it absolutely clear that the United States government would rather see this de-escalated,” Kerry said.

“But if Russia does not choose to de-escalate … then our partners will have absolutely no choice but to join us to expand on steps to isolate Russia politically and economically.”

Obama indicated some sympathy for the Russian position, but made clear that he regarded Russian troops in Crimea as the key sticking point.

“Everybody recognises that although Russia has legitimate interests in what happens in a neighbouring state that does not give it the right to use force as a means of exerting influence inside that state,” he said.

The US president also pushed back at the suggestion among hawks in Washington that he was being out-manouevered by the Kremlin.

“The way that some of this has been reported, there’s a suggestion somehow that the Russian actions have been clever strategically. I actually think that this has not been a sign of strength but rather is a reflection that countries near Russia have deep concerns and suspicions about this kind of meddling, and if anything, it will push many countries further away from Russia …”

“The course of history is for people to want to be free to make their own decisions about their own futures. And the international community I think is unified in believing that it is not the role of an outside force – where there’s been no evidence of serious violence, where there’s been no rationale under international law – to intervene in people trying to determine their own destiny.”

Meanwhile, Nato announced that an extraordinary Nato-Russia council will now convene at the suggestion of alliance secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Russia agreed to the meeting on Tuesday, as Nato ambassadors held further meetings to discuss the crisis among themselves.

Rasmussen has said Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine is in violation of the UN charter and threatens peace and security in Europe.